Looks like the original Fallout is FREE at GOG right now until Saturday.
I'll get that and wait for the resto-project on NMA to be ready.
(Also been waiting for Killap's final resto-version for Fallout 2 for the past 1.5 years.)
Edit:
On Fallout 3:
To be honest, I did not really mind Fallout 3 on the PC at least.
Sure it was initially very (and still fairly) buggy and the writing was meh and they ruined Harold and the idea of Supermutants and the Brotherhood of Steel and everyone looked and sounded the same and ......
But as a 'generic' open-world-explore-everything-game it was pretty decent and paid itself in the number of hours I sunk into it.
There is actually much item-placement-detail put into the massive game world.
The main theme is quite awesome.
The classic Fallout gore is present by default, which was unfortunately mostly tied to Bloody-mess in New Vegas. (Ability to blow up detached heads, torsos, limbs.)
Game-over ragdolls are fun.
The Pipboy character menu/inventory/quest log is easy to use and looks nifty. (At least compared to Skyrim's suprisingly plain and possibly console-optimised UI.)
The general visual design, while occasionally not particularly classic Fallout-ty, was quite decent looking and nailed the 50's style retro-futuristic feel. There also seems to be a much greater focus on the horrors of nuclear annihilation.
While many everywhere complain about the Gamebyro engine, at least it runs somewhat decently on lower-end hardware and is easily moddable/tinkerable.
On Fallout 2:
I'm experienced but far from good at this game.
For me, high agility and perception is always a must. The former is usually maxed out.
Grinding or doing as many quests as possible is a basic requirement even at the easiest difficulty. After my first semi-blind playthrough, I have always played a 'good' person who completes all quests perfectly for the maximum XP.
Playing as a low intelligence character is almost impossible but occasionally hilarious. The game manual even warns you!
(I tried a 'cheat' character with maxed out SPECAL.)
Speaking of character models who look the same......
(Yes, I know it is due both to limitations of the game engine and time of the artists, who have to 'draw' each individual frame for moving, performing actions, the various gory deaths.....)
Spoiler?:
The car is annoyingly buggy even with the official and unofficial patches.
The game-over screen scares the heck out of me still and always equates to a quick monitor off or a large hard cover book shield.
Would prefer a close up of a cracked Pipboy screen, maybe around a skeletal arm, with the analog heath counter at zero and some comedic vault-boy effect on the screen.
Potential spoiler:
This is why I sometimes attempt a relatively early, quest related, dash for that potentially dangerous place in the west with that 'free' power armor once I get the car.
The general sense of humour in this installment is great and sort of highlights one of the series' unique points.
Another spoiler:
For some strange reason, I always create female characters named 'Buffy'. If you played before, do you know why?